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Norman Music Festival prepares for 'fun, safe chaos'

Owners reported bigger crowds Friday, a development that bodes well for Saturday, when Main Street in Norman will fill with music fans waiting to see Stillwater breakthrough band Other Lives and headliner Portugal. The Man.

BY GEORGE LANG glang@opubco.com •
Published: April 28, 2012

NORMAN — Norman Music Festival co-chair Steven White made the rounds on the first night of the fifth annual free music event, checking in on stages at Guestroom Records, Bison Witches and the Garage on Main Street.

Crowds gather outside The Opolis, 113 Crawford, in Norman for day two of the Norman Music Festival. Organizers predict attendance will reach 45,000 on Saturday. Photos by Kyle Roberts, for the oklahoman

Wherever White stopped on Thursday, owners reported bigger crowds — a development that bodes well for Saturday, when Main Street will fill with music fans waiting to see Stillwater breakthrough band Other Lives and headliner Portugal. The Man.

“They think there were three times as many people out as last year,” White said Friday afternoon as he checked in on technical preparations at the Sooner Theatre, one of 21 stages and venues participating in this year's event.

“I think there were somewhere between 4,500 and 6,000 people out last night.”

Kim Haywood, festival director for the deadCenter Film Festival, was on hand to oversee “Rockumentaries with deadCenter,” an evening of documentaries focusing on Oklahoma bands, including Black Canyon and the Flaming Lips.

She said the partnership between the Norman Music Festival and deadCenter, now in its second year of full-evening programming, was a natural progression for both events.

“The thing that binds us is this incredible energy,” Haywood said. “These are both community-grown events, and part of that energy comes from people knowing that, the more they turn out and support these events, the more they grow.”